How To Play Slots

Slot Machine
Play

Slot machines, and increasingly video poker
machines, are the most popular forms of gaming in casinos. Some
table players look down on slots because they are pre-programmed
with a payback percentage and a hit frequency, thinking that this
means slots are not true gambling. However, in a sense the casinos
have similarly set the payback percentages of table games through
the various rules they've established for the games. While I am
primarily a table player, I enjoy an occasional slot session. There
have even been nights when the slots were the only way I was able to
win anything.

The Machine

Slot machines contain a "random number generator"
(RNG) micro-computer that constantly (even while the machine is not
being used) spits out numbers. These random numbers correspond to
positions on each of the reels in the machine. When you pull the
handle or push the "Spin" button you aren't really initiating
anything except the spinning of the reels which is merely for show.
You are simply telling the machine to display the reel positions
that correspond to the last set of random numbers that were
generated.

The above is important because it de-bunks some
long-held assumptions about slot machines. Like the roulette wheel,
where every play is completely random and independent, one pull of a
slot handle is completely random and completely independent of the
previous or next pull. It all comes down to the precise moment that
you pull that handle or push that "Spin" button (i.e. which set of
random numbers you select). Pulling the handle or pushing the button
a 100th of a second later would yield a totally different result.

The result of the above is this:

If someone gets a big payout at a machine
that you just left, don't feel bad because you "missed" a
payout. You would not have gotten that payout if you continued
to play. Again, this is due to the rapid generation of random
numbers.

A machine is never "due to hit". The payback
percentage and hit frequency are calculated over the long term.

A machine can go for days on end without a
decent payout but there is no reason it can't have two large
payouts in a short period of time.

Playing faster will not increase your chances
of winning. The RNG will generate thousands of numbers between
the spins of even the fastest player. While a faster player may
seem to win more, it's simply because they've spun more for a
given amount of time.

In addition:

The number of coins you play has nothing to
do with the numbers that are generated.

It makes absolutely no difference to the
machine, or the results, if you pull the handle or press the
"Spin" button.

Lets take a simplified example of a three-reel
machine. If a machine has 10 symbols on each reel, and there are two
"blank" positions between each symbol, that's 30 positions on each
reel. A three-reel machine gives 303 or 27,000 possible results that
you could get when you pull the handle or press the "Spin" button. A
fair number of these possible results will give smaller, partial
payouts, but there's only a 1 in 27,000 chance that the combination
of numbers that represents the machine's jackpot will be generated.
Because the random numbers are generated so frequently and so
rapidly, the combination of numbers that correspond to this 1 in
27,000 jackpot position of the reels could be generated quite
frequently (relatively speaking). It's the probability that you will
pull the handle or hit the "Spin" button at the precise moment that
they are generated is what is very low.

Given the random number generation, luck is as
involved with slot play as it is with table play. However, the key
point with slot machines is that they are set up with different
payback percentages and hit frequencies. (The odds at table games
are pretty much the same wherever you play because the rules are
consistent from one casino to the next.) Machines that pay off
frequently are said to be "loose". But loose isn't always a good
thing if you're looking for a hefty jackpot. If a machine is has a
high payback percentage (98%), but also has a high hit frequency,
you'll end up with a lot of little payouts. You may come out ahead,
but you'll be less likely to hit a sizable payoff that's worth
writing home about. The best machines are those with a high payback
percentage and a lower hit frequency.

So how do you spot these machines? You can't. The
best you can do is ask a slot attendant or change attendant which
machines are loose and hope Lady Luck is with you. And don't blame
the attendant for giving you a bum steer if you come up dry. They
have no control over those RNGs in the machines and given that the
hit frequency is calculated over the long term, a machine could have
a loose period but then tighten up. In addition, the casino can (and
routinely do) change the payback percentages and hit frequencies of
machines from a central control computer. If you do win a sizable
sum based on the assistance of a slot or change attendant, a tip
would be a nice gesture.

The Casinos

If the casinos are going to reduce their take on
a machine (in the form of a higher payback percentage) you can bet
they want to get some bang for their bucks. They will usually
disperse their looser machines in areas that are visible by the
largest number of people. You're more likely to find a loose machine
near the front desk where arriving players are standing in line
watching the action, near "the cage", on main aisles, or are visible
from buffet and show lines or lounges. Note that I said "visible
from" and not "next to". People who are stuck in long buffet and
show lines are a captive audience who are likely to play machines
next to them simply to kill time while they wait. You typically
won't find loose machines in areas where people stand idle.

You will often see signs that say "Up to 98%
payback" indicating that they have loose machines. This means that
over the long term the slot will pay out 98 cents of every dollar
that is played. The "up to" is the key point here. It means that a
casino could have only one machine set to pay back at 98% to comply
with the sign. If you find an area of slots with a sign without the
"up to" you may want to give it a try.

A machine with a 98% payback give the house a 2%
edge, which is comparable with craps and blackjack. However, there
are very few machines in a casino that have this high of a payback
percentage. The worst machines can be as low as 75% (giving the
house a whopping 25% advantage).

The hit frequency is set to pay out smaller
amounts occasionally to keep the person playing the machine. A lot
of people will think they're "winning" if they get any money at all
out of a slot machine. But if you put $20 into a machine and you get
$15 back you've lost $5. I have an aunt who will gladly tell you how
much she "won" playing the slots, but when you ask her how much she
put into the machines to get those "winnings" she clams up. The
casinos just love these kind of people.

Strategy

Have a strategy for both playing the slots and
managing your money. You can refine a strategy for yourself based on
some well-known practices:

Decide on a "loss number". If you sit down at
a machine and don't win anything in 6 or 8 or 10 or 12 spins you
move on to a different machine. Or if you hit that many losing
spins after getting a payout from that machine you move on. This
will help keep you from "putting it all back in" hoping for
another win, but at the same time keeps you at a loose machine.
If you try 3 or 4 different machines without much luck, move on
to a different casino.

Your bankroll for a particular gaming session
should be the amount that you're willing to lose in that
session. When your bankroll (and any winnings you may have added
to it) are gone, you're done playing for that session. Go
shopping or sight-seeing.

Decide how to handle your winnings. Pocket
25% or 50% or 75% of what you've actually won and add the
remainder to your remaining bankroll for more playing, or keep
it all. I like to take my session bankroll to a change both and
change it into rolls of coins at the beginning of a session. I
plug all of the coins from the rolls into machines and any coins
I have "won" go into a change bucket. (Casinos usually have
small plastic buckets with their logo on them stacked up around
the machines.) When I've finished putting all of the rolled
coins in the machine, I take the bucket of coins (my "winnings")
to a change booth to cash them in. This makes it easy to tell if
I've come out ahead or behind for this particular session and by
how much.

Tips

The three-reel machines with only one "payline"
(the line that goes across the reel display indicating where the
symbols have to line up) offer the best overall percentages for
coming out ahead.

Higher denomination machines have higher
payback percentages. You'll probably do better playing a single
coin in a dollar machine than three coins in a quarter machine.

Don't listen to those who say "always play
maximum coins". It's your money you're putting in those
machines. Play the number of coins you feel comfortable playing.
The more coins you play the faster you will go through your
bankroll, the shorter your session will be, and the fewer spins
you will get. (Naturally, if you luck up on a loose machine,
playing maximum coins may be called for.)

Don't forget to insert your players card in
the reader before you begin playing and don't forget to take it
with you when you leave.

Slow down your play by using coins. Pulling
the handle instead of using the "Spin" button will also lengthen
your playing time. If you get to the point where you feel like
pulling the handle is too tiring, that may be a sign it's time
to end your gaming session and try some other activity. Slot
play should be fun. If you find yourself mindlessly pushing a
"Spin" button watching the "Credits" display count down you've
probably had enough fun for awhile.

Most casinos will "cap" (i.e. hold) a machine
for you if you want to take a break or go to the restroom. Ask a
slot or change attendant if you want your machine capped, but be
sure to take your money with you.

Personally, I've had decent results with dollar
machines at the Riviera and Circus Circus. That may not be just a
coincidence. The older places near the north end of the Strip may
set their machines looser to try and draw players away from the
newer, fancier resorts. If you're not having any luck on the Strip,
try hopping one of the free shuttles to one of the off-Strip
casinos.

While I have no way of proving it, it seems like
the slots tighten up on Friday mornings and stay that way through
the weekend (to make more money off of the crowds that drive in). If
you stay includes weekdays, play the slots then and switch to table
games on the weekends.

Occasionally playing slots is fun, but if that's
all you play you are really short-changing yourself. It's like
eating toast for dinner day after day after day. Playing table games
will greatly enhance your casino experience and they're not as hard
as they look. Back on the Gaming page you'll find links to tutorials
for craps, roulette and blackjack. Give them a try!